12 Smart Ways to Maximize Kitchen Space with Equipment Layout
Key Takeaways ⮕ • Optimize workflow with strategic equipment placement • Use multi-functional equipment to save space • Implement proper storage solutions • Consider the work triangle concept • Prioritize safety and ergonomics • Choose equipment that balances function and space-saving design
Christian Hernandez
NJ's Restaurant Equipment Expert
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1. Use the Work Triangle Concept
The work triangle connects the fridge, stove, and sink. This makes cooking easier and faster, especially in small kitchens. It helps you move less and work better. In big kitchens, it’s really helpful for working quickly. When you plan your kitchen, try to keep the total distance between these three spots under 26 feet. Each side of the triangle should be between 4 and 9 feet for the best setup.
When setting up your work triangle, think about using space-saving equipment. For example, the Migali C-1FB-HC reach-in freezer is compact but holds a lot. It’s perfect for keeping your ingredients close without taking up too much room. This freezer has 23 cubic feet of space inside but doesn’t take up much floor space. It’s also good at saving energy, which is important for any kitchen trying to keep costs down.
For cooking, the Royal Range Bakery Depth Electric Convection Oven is a great choice. It can bake lots of food at once but doesn’t need much space. This oven can fit bigger baking sheets, so you can make more food without needing a bigger kitchen. It spreads heat evenly, which means your food will cook well every time. You can use it for many things, from baking bread to cooking meat, which makes it really useful in a small kitchen.
2. Use Vertical Space for Storage
In small kitchens, using wall space is really important for storing things and keeping your work area clear. You can put up shelves, racks, and magnetic strips on the walls. These give you more space to store things without using up your counter space. Try to get shelves that you can move around, so you can change them as you need different things.
Hanging pots and pans from the ceiling is a good way to store them. It also makes your kitchen look professional. For smaller tools, you can use pegboards. These let you arrange your tools in different ways. You might also want to put racks on the ceiling for things you don’t use as often.
Check out our commercial cooking equipment to find tools that work well with vertical storage. Many new kitchen tools are made to save space. Some are thin or can stack on top of each other. Look for things you can hang on the wall, like knife holders or spice racks. These free up space in your drawers and on your counters.
3. Choose Multi-Functional Equipment
Picking tools that can do many jobs is a smart way to save space in your kitchen. These tools not only take up less room but also mean you need fewer special machines. This can make your kitchen work better and might save you money on equipment. When you’re choosing tools, look for ones that can do lots of different cooking jobs.
Broaster 1800 Pressure Fryer
The Broaster 1800 Pressure Fryer is a good example. It can fry food fast and under pressure, which means it cooks well and doesn’t take up much room. This type of equipment is perfect for kitchens where space is tight but you still need to cook a lot of food. It cooks faster and uses less oil, so the food is healthier and crispier. It’s great for small kitchens, food trucks, or even big kitchens that want to add new menu items without needing lots more space.
Other good multi-use tools are ovens that can steam, bake, and roast, or food processors that can chop, mix, and puree. By getting these kinds of tools, you can have fewer machines in your kitchen but still make lots of different foods.
4. Set Up Clear Work Areas
Dividing your kitchen into different work areas helps you work better and use your space well. By having clear spots for preparing food, cooking, cleaning, and storing things, you create a good flow. This helps people move around easily and reduces accidents. It also means tools and equipment are where you need them, which makes work faster.
When you’re planning your work areas, think about how you usually make food. Put your prep area near the fridge so it’s easy to get ingredients. The cooking area should be next to the prep area, with spices and tools nearby. The cleaning area, with the dishwasher and sink, should be a bit separate but still easy to get to.
Take a look at our refrigeration options to find coolers and freezers that fit well in your storage zone. Having the right cooling equipment in the right place keeps your food fresh and your kitchen running smoothly. Think about small fridges that fit under counters for your prep areas. These save space but keep ingredients close. For storing lots of food, look at big fridges or walk-in coolers, depending on how big your kitchen is. Putting your cooling equipment in the right places can really help you move around less and work faster.
5. Use Islands or Carts for Extra Space
Adding kitchen islands or movable carts can give you more work space and storage. These can be used for different things throughout the day, like preparing food, plating dishes, or even serving during busy times.
Kitchen islands, if you have room, are great central spots for cooking. They can have drawers, shelves, or even machines underneath, which uses space well. For smaller kitchens or if you need to move things around, rolling carts are good. You can move them where you need extra counter space when it’s busy, and push them out of the way when you don’t.
You can even put some equipment under your island. For example, the Icetro WU-0100 ice maker is a compact undercounter unit that provides a steady supply of ice without taking up valuable floor space. This machine produces up to 100 pounds of ice per day, making it a great fit for bars, cafes, and small restaurants that need a reliable ice source. Designed with efficiency in mind, it operates quietly and saves energy, helping to keep operational costs low while ensuring you always have fresh ice on hand.
6. Plan for Good Traffic Flow
Making sure people can move around easily in your kitchen is really important for working well and staying safe. You need enough space between work areas, equipment, and storage so that staff can move without bumping into things. This helps prevent accidents and makes work faster. When you’re planning your kitchen, think about the busiest paths and make sure they’re clear and easy to walk through
The rules say you should have at least 36 inches of space for walkways. It’s even better if you can have 42 to 48 inches in areas where people might need to pass each other. In places where staff work with their backs to each other, try to have at least 4 feet of space. This stops people from bumping into each other and gives everyone room to move comfortably.
Pay extra attention to busy areas like the path between the cooking area and where food is served, or between prep stations and fridges. These areas should be as open and direct as possible to help people move smoothly during busy times.
Check out our Pasmo equipment for ideas on how to set up your kitchen in a way that helps people move around easily while still fitting in all the tools you need. Pasmo makes compact, efficient equipment that’s designed for busy kitchens. Their tools can help you make the most of your space while still having everything you need to work safely and effectively.
7. Make the Most of Corner Spaces
Corner spaces in kitchens can be tricky, but with some clever ideas, they can become really useful. Using these often forgotten areas can give you more storage and help you use your space better. The key is to use smart storage solutions that make it easy to reach things in these corners.
For lower cabinets, think about putting in lazy Susans or pull-out corner organizers. These make it easy to reach things stored deep in corners that might be hard to get to otherwise. In upper cabinets, diagonal corner cabinets with adjustable shelves can give you lots of storage for things you don’t use as often, while still looking neat and organized.
In bigger kitchens, corners can be good spots for certain types of equipment. For example, putting a sink in a corner can make it easier to work, letting you turn easily between different work areas. Or, you could put a fridge or oven at an angle in a corner. This can give you more counter space next to it and make the kitchen look interesting.
When designing corner work areas, think about L-shaped or curved countertops that follow the shape of the corner. This gives you more usable surface and makes the workspace flow better. Adding storage or shelves above these countertops can make corner areas even more useful.
8. Pick Compact and Stackable Equipment
Choosing compact and stackable equipment is a smart way to save space in any kitchen, especially in smaller ones. These space-saving designs let you have all the tools you need without taking up too much room. When you’re picking kitchen tools and appliances, look for ones that work well but don’t take up a lot of space.
Look for equipment that’s made to stack or fit together. Many companies now make appliances that you can easily stack or put side by side. This lets you set up your kitchen in a way that fits your space and how you work. It not only saves floor space but also makes your kitchen look more organized and put together.
The Hoshizaki KMD-860MWJ ice machine is a good example. It makes a lot of ice but doesn’t need much floor space. This kind of smart design is perfect for kitchens that need to do a lot with limited room. This machine can make up to 840 pounds of ice every day, but it’s compact and can be stacked. You can put it in different places in your kitchen, which is great for different kitchen layouts. It also saves water and energy, which helps keep your costs down – something every kitchen cares about.
When you’re picking compact equipment, look at how much it can do compared to its size. Many new appliances can do a lot even though they’re small, thanks to new technology and designs. This means you can keep making lots of food or even make more, without needing a bigger kitchen.
9. Use Mobile Workstations for Flexibility
Using mobile workstations in your kitchen gives you lots of flexibility and can really help you use your space better. These versatile units, which can be carts, tables, or even whole cooking stations on wheels, let you change your kitchen layout quickly and easily to fit different needs or different types of food preparation.
Mobile workstations are especially useful in kitchens that do many different things or need to change for different menus. You can move them to create more workspace when it’s busy, put them in different places to work better for specific tasks, or even roll them out of the way when you don’t need them, giving you more floor space.
When you’re choosing mobile units, look for features that make them more useful and durable. Strong wheels with locks keep them steady when you’re using them but let you move them easily. Stainless steel is good because it’s strong and easy to clean, which is important in a busy kitchen. Think about getting units with built-in storage, like drawers or shelves, to make them even more useful.
Browse our commercial cooking equipment to find mobile solutions that can help make your kitchen more flexible. Many of our equipment options can be moved around or put on mobile platforms, letting you create a kitchen that can change and grow with your business.
10. Plan Your Refrigeration Wisely
Putting your refrigerators in the right places is really important for making your kitchen work well and using space smartly. The goal is to make sure you can easily reach the ingredients you use often, while still having enough storage and not messing up how people move around the kitchen.
Think about using different types of refrigerators for different needs. Small fridges that fit under counters can be put at work stations for easy access to things you use a lot. Bigger fridges can go along walls or in less busy areas for storing more stuff. In larger kitchens, walk-in coolers give you lots of storage but should be placed so staff don’t have to walk too far to get to them.
Migali C-1F Refrigerator
The Migali C-1F refrigerator is a great choice for kitchens that need to save space. It holds a lot but doesn’t take up too much room. This fridge has one door and gives you 23 cubic feet of storage space, but it doesn’t take up much floor space. This is perfect for kitchens where space is tight. It’s good at saving energy and is built strong to last in busy kitchens. You can move the shelves around inside to fit different sized containers, which is really handy.
When you’re planning where to put your refrigerators, think about how food moves from when it’s delivered, to where it’s stored, to where it’s prepared. Put fridges near the work areas where they’ll be used most. For example, put a small fridge near where you make salads so it’s easy to get fresh vegetables. Remember to leave space around refrigerators for air to flow and for maintenance, so they work well and last longer.
11. Design with Comfort in Mind
Making a comfortable place to work is really important for keeping your staff working well and feeling good, especially in a busy and sometimes stressful kitchen. You should think about making everything in your kitchen comfortable to use, from how high the work surfaces are to where you put equipment and how you store things.
Start by making sure your countertops are the right height for the jobs being done. Most counters are about 36 inches high, which is good for most tasks. But you might want some lower surfaces (around 30-32 inches) for jobs that need you to push down, like kneading dough. Higher surfaces (38-40 inches) are better for careful work like decorating plates.
Think about where you put things that are used a lot. Store heavy items at waist level so people don’t have to lift them from high up or bend down low. Keep tools that are used often within easy reach so people don’t have to stretch or bend a lot. Drawers and pull-out shelves under counters can make it easier to reach things compared to deep cabinets.
Good lighting is also really important for comfort and safety. Make sure work areas are well-lit to reduce eye strain and the risk of accidents. Think about putting lights under cabinets or over prep stations to give focused light where it’s needed most.
Learn more about choosing equipment that’s easy to use in our fryer comparison guide. This can help you pick tools that work well and keep your staff happy and healthy. The guide tells you about features of different fryers that make them comfortable to use, helping you choose equipment that not only works well but also makes your kitchen a better place to work.
12. Keep Checking and Improving Your Layout
How your kitchen is set up and what equipment you need can change over time. This might happen when you change your menu, hire more staff, or get busier. It’s important to keep checking how your kitchen is working and make changes when needed to keep it running well and deal with new challenges or opportunities.
Set up a regular time to look at how your kitchen is performing. You could ask your staff for feedback, watch how long tasks take, or look at things like how long it takes to prepare food and how much food is wasted. Use this information to find problem areas, spaces that aren’t being used well, or places where work could flow better.
Be open to trying different setups. Sometimes, small changes like moving a prep station or swapping where two pieces of equipment are can make a big difference in how well work flows. Don’t be afraid to make temporary changes and see how they work before making them permanent.
Keep up with new kitchen equipment and design trends. New commercial kitchen equipment often comes with more efficient, space-saving options that could help your kitchen. Going to industry events, talking with other professionals, and asking kitchen design experts for advice can give you valuable ideas for improving your kitchen.
Check out our guide on convection vs. combi ovens to stay up-to-date on new equipment that could help you save space and work more efficiently. This comparison can help you understand what’s good about each type of oven and figure out which might work best in your kitchen as it changes. Combi ovens, especially, can do many jobs and save space, which could really help how your kitchen is set up and what it can do.
Making the most of your kitchen space is super important for running a good food business. By using these 12 smart tips, you can create a kitchen that not only fits everything you need but also helps you work better and faster. Remember, the key is to plan carefully, choose the right equipment, and always be ready to adapt to what your kitchen needs.
Using space well in a commercial kitchen is more than just keeping things tidy. It’s about making a place that helps you work better, keeps everyone safe, and can change as your business grows. By using ideas like the work triangle, storing things up high, and getting equipment that can do many jobs, you can make your kitchen work much better without needing more space.
It’s important to keep checking how things are working and be willing to make changes. As your menu, staff, and how busy you are change, your kitchen setup should change too. Keep learning about new kitchen equipment and designs, and don’t be afraid to make changes that could make your kitchen work better.
At 247 Restaurant Equipment, we’re here to help you find the perfect tools to make your kitchen work great, no matter how big or small it is. Check out our wide range of commercial kitchen equipment to start making your kitchen the best it can be today. We have lots of equipment that saves space and works efficiently, which can help you get the most out of your kitchen. Whether you want to upgrade one piece of equipment or completely change your kitchen layout, we have the knowledge and products to help you reach your goals.
Remember, making your kitchen layout work well is something you keep working on all the time. By always looking for ways to use your space better and make work flow smoother, you can make sure your kitchen stays productive, comfortable, and profitable for a long time.
